The Original Ad

When Paula Green created Avis’ “We try harder” campaign with art director Helmut Krone, it was a triumphant success.

More than a catchy advertising slogan, Avis adopted the phrase as the company’s manifesto. In just four years, the rent-a-car company had overhauled every facet of their business, resulting in a market share increase from 11% to 34%. With just three words, Avis had set a new standard for rental car companies around the world. A testament to Paula’s vision, half a century later, ‘We Try Harder’ remains the company’s tag line.

Paula Green

Originally from Hollywood, Paula worked as a secretary at Fawcett Publications before embarking on what became a formidable career at Doyle Dane Bernbach. Working with art director Helmut Krone, she created a campaign for Avis that not only revolutionized the company but the entire rent-a-car industry.

Paula ascended to Creative Vice President of DDB, eventually leaving to start her own agency with her husband. Paula continued creating groundbreaking work for clients such as the ILGWU, New York Times, Goya, Subaru and the American Cancer Society. She has won every major advertising award and was recently inducted into The One Club Hall of Fame. Paula currently lives on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, enjoying her life as both a mother and grandmother. She is also in the early stages of authoring a book.

1962

The Original Brief

2012

The Re-imagined Work

The Original Brief

Refresh Avis’ image and business by defining its place in the rent-a-car industry.

The Original Work

“We try harder” demonstrates the benefit in choosing a ‘No. 2 company’. When you’re a challenger brand, you have to constantly try harder for every customer and can’t afford to offer anything less than great customer service.

The Re-imagined Work

The most compelling proof of Avis trying harder are its satisfied customers. In the re-imagined ad,
customers write about their personal rental experience with Avis, in natural language, i.e. spoken
English. Within a matter of seconds, that story is turned into a personal film, which they can share
on the web - all within the ad. No two experiences are the same, and thus no two stories will ever be
the same. The ad understands the customer letters, and no matter what their story, they get a
personalized video every time.

Ad Settings

The Tech

The Concept

The re-imagined ads invite customers to write about their rental experiences with
Avis, and turn each letter into a personal animated video which they can share on
the web. These videos are dynamically created within a few seconds, right in the
ad itself. There is no stronger testament to Avis trying harder, than real stories
from real customers who’ve experienced the service for themselves.

DesktopTablet

Ads That Understand the Customer

The language processing algorithm analyzes each customer’s story, and using a compositing engine it creates a unique video for each one. The ad changes based on the tone of the customer note. For example, if someone complains of bad service, then Avis offers them a chance to address their concern, while a happy customer is encouraged to share their story more broadly on the web.

Every Story is Unique

With millions of Avis customers, the ad has to account for every possible story and item that someone could possibly write about, including names, things, places, etc. The input is analyzed through structured data and story scenarios. With all of the potential combinations of variables accounted for, this ad can produce over 1024 possible videos. So no matter what a customer has to say, there is a unique video for everyone.

Pitch-perfect Narration

Voice clips from a pre-recorded database are stitched together into a single audio track on the fly to narrate each story. Linguistic structures and rules allow audio scripts as well as interwoven animations to come together naturally, providing a seamless sounding video, like one would expect if it were created in a professional editing studio.

Targeting Techniques Are Creative Tools

The content in the ad varies based on the context of website / mobile app, or the interests of the viewer. For example, a business traveler will see opening animations from a similar customer’s story, before they write their own. Similarly, using remarketing, the ad can offer a booking deal to someone who went to Avis' website but didn’t complete a booking, while a user who made a booking is prompted to write about his / her experience.